“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life;” (Psalm 23:6 KJV).
We are all familiar with the 23rd
Psalm, but I usually focus more on other verses of the chapter. When I read this verse recently, I questioned
whether I really believed it for my life, so I did some research.
Some commentaries said the verse literally
means nothing but God’s goodness and mercy shall pursue us through every change
and in every situation until our lives end.
What are goodness and mercy?
God’s goodness is the way He displays His attributes to us through His
love, salvation, forgiveness, kindness, etc. His mercy is His compassion for us
and not giving us what we deserve.
On difficult days, I am sometimes tempted
to doubt these blessings because the pain and the problems are still
there. But so is He. During
excruciatingly painful days or severe bouts of depression, God either brings
relief or sustains me through them. When I have difficult decisions to make,
God gives me wisdom and direction. When
I blame God or accuse Him of not loving me or caring about my struggles, He
forgives, convicts, and loves me. When I
feel I can’t go on, His goodness and mercy give me perseverance to endure.
As I reflect on my life, I truly can see
that God’s goodness and mercy have faithfully chased after me and been poured
out on me over and over again. God’s
character does not change, so I have the assurance that He will continue to
pursue me each day with these gifts. And
when this life of pain is over, it will only be the beginning of seeing His
goodness and mercy in whole new ways, as I dwell with Him forever.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, forgive me for the times
when I have doubted your goodness and mercy in my life. Open my eyes to them each day, and give me
faith to believe that You will continue to give them through whatever
challenges I have yet to face. Amen.
